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“We’re meeting Jordan and Tehya, as well as Ian and Kira Richards with your grandmother and her escort, in the lobby of the hotel,” he told her again. “We’re going to enter the ballroom, get us some drinks, and mingle. You’ll know many of the people there. You’ll introduce me as your friend. Look for the doctors you know. If you recognize the man that accompanied your father that night, and later to the clinic, then turn in to me. Don’t stare at him. Simply tell me you’re ready to leave, and we’ll leave. You can give me his name after we leave the ballroom.”
“Then what?” She watched as the lights of the hotel came into view.
“Then I’ll return to your apartment with you and the others will meet with me. We’ll work up a plan and we’ll go after him. That simple.”
“You’ll leave me alone?”
“Never.” His look was possessive, fierce. “You’ll be protected, love. I swear it. Are you ready now?”
The limo pulled into the front entrance of the exclusive hotel.
“As I’ll ever be.”
It came to a stop as the doorman stepped to it and opened the door with a practiced swing of his arm.
Micah stepped out, then reached in and took her hand to help her step free of the limo.
Risa drew in a hard breath.
She could do this, she assured herself. Micah was depending on her. Orion and the doctor he worked for had destroyed Micah’s family. For whatever reason, it had caused him to sign away his future. He deserved his chance for revenge.
She felt his hand on her lower back, a warm, comforting weight as he led her into the hotel.
Bright lights assaulted her eyes. She clutched at the small purse she carried and looked around frantically at the guests gathering outside the nearest ballroom. Faces blurred; the music seemed distant and far away. She felt as though she were suddenly outside herself and scrambling to find purchase.
“Risa. There you are.”
Her head jerked to her left. Her grandmother Abigail was moving across the lobby, her escort behind her. Dr. Oswald Heinrick was a family friend. She had tried to get Risa to let Heinrick see her after she was released from the clinic, but she had refused.
Heinrick, like James Walters, had been a friend of Jansen Clay’s.
Ugly little girl. The words clashed in Risa’s head as her grandmother’s voice seemed to fade. Damn you, Jansen, you promised one of these girls to me. I’ve risked my entire reputation for your fucking drug.
Risa shook her head.
“Risa, dear, are you okay?” Her grandmother hugged her.
Abigail’s now short, spiked hair brushed Risa’s jaw. She glanced behind her, looked up, and encountered Oswald Heinrick’s cold green eyes.
I know you! I know you! Her own screams echoed in her head.
“Risa, you look simply beautiful.” Her grandmother drew back and stared at Risa with a beaming smile before looking over her shoulder. “Isn’t she gorgeous, Oswald?”
“She’s simply beautiful.” His voice.
Risa shook her head. It wasn’t the right voice, was it? She remembered a colder tone. Didn’t she?
God, she couldn’t breathe. There were too many people surrounding her, too many voices. She couldn’t think.
“Risa, darling?” She felt Micah’s arm around her back as she stared up at Oswald Heinrick. His smile was warm and friendly. His eyes were cold. The thick beard and mustache that covered the lower part of his face distracted her.
It shouldn’t be there, she thought.
“You grew a beard,” she whispered faintly.
His eyes narrowed on her. Snake’s eyes. Small and mean. She remembered those eyes. Like ice. Hatred and disdain filling them.
“Actually, I did.” His smile was wide, disarming, as he ran his hand over his lower face. “Abigail isn’t quite used to it yet.”
